creatives

Amy Campbell

creator/director/choreographer

Amy Campbell (She/her) is one of Australia’s most accomplished creative talents with a career spanning all areas of the entertainment industry.

Her extensive list of choreographic credits include the Sydney Theatre Award Nominated Once (Darlinghurst Theatre Co), In The Heights-Nominated for a 2019 Helpmann Award and winner of the Sydney Theatre Critics Award (Blue Saint Productions in association with The Hayes Theatre), the Australian premiere of Violet (Broadway World Australia Award), the national tour of HAIR (Sydney Opera House and Peace Productions), An Act Of God (Darlinghurst Theatre Co), Spring Awakening (ATYP), The Hayes Theatre Co’s Side Show, the original Australian work Guilty Pleasures (Blue Saint Productions) and Oklahoma for The Production Company, Velvet Rewired for both the Australian Tour and the upcoming Hamburg Production and Carmen (Opera Australia) where she was the revival choreographer.

She was also the Choreographer/Movement Director for The Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s productions of Funny Girl, Porgy and Bess and Candide and the Australian Resident Director of HAMILTON (Michael Cassel Group).

Amy has extensive experience in film and television with credits including Dance Academy, The X Factor, ABC’s Giggle and Hoot and various television commercials.

In 2020 Amy made her directorial debut with A Chorus Line (Darlinghurst Theatre Co) that recently opened as part of The Sydney Festival followed by a season at The Sydney Opera House.

Victoria Falconer

musical supervisor/arrangements

Victoria (she/her) is a Filipina-English cabaret performer, theatre maker, multi-instrumentalist, composer and musical director, born on Gunai land and residing on Kaurna country. Her recent work includes musical direction on the Australian debut of Lizzie (Hayes Theatre/Sydney Festival), co-creating and MCing Smashed: The Brunch Party (Weekly Pick of Adelaide Fringe 2021), music consultancy on Rebel Wilson-produced show The Deb (ATYP) and playing The Muso in Ruby-award winning production, The Boy Who Talked To Dogs (Slingsby/State Theatre SA).

She is co-creator/performer with feminist firebrands Fringe Wives Club, who have presented on stages including Soho Theatre and Southbank Centre (London), Arts Centre Melbourne, Darwin Festival and BATS Theatre (Wellington), and winning Spirit of the Fringe at Edinburgh Fringe in 2018. Musical direction credits include the acclaimed queer reimagining of Oklahoma! (Black Swan State Theatre, 2020), Bourgeois & Maurice's Insane Animals (HOME Manchester, 2020), the Australian re-staging of Once (Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 2019/2021), Courtney Act’s Under The Covers (2019) and Sasquatch The Opera by Roddy Bottom of Faith No More (Edinburgh, 2018).

 Victoria has composed for award-winning films including Yer Old Faither (Heather Croall, 2020), Double Portrait (Ian Bruce, 2018), and live shows including Trygve Wakenshaw’s Only Bones v1.4 (London International Mime Festival 2020). She has twice received Best Cabaret awards at Adelaide Fringe (2018/2011), plus nominations for a Sydney Theatre Award (Once, Darlinghurst Theatre Company) and Green Room Award (Glittergrass, Malthouse) in musical direction. She is currently writing a new piece, And Then You Go (The Vali Myers Project) after winning the prestigious Frank Ford Commission to create a new show for Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2022.

Victoria is a founding director of The People of Cabaret, an initiative formed to advocate for IBPOC artists and promote intersectional diversity across Australian stages.

Neil Gooding

producer/concept

Neil Gooding is an international theatre Director, Producer and Writer. He was the originating Chairman and one of the founding members of Hayes Theatre Co in Sydney, is the head of New Musicals Australia and in 2002 established his company, Neil Gooding Productions (NGP). Neil has been awarded a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Law, both from the University of Queensland.

As a director, Neil was nominated for a 2009 Helpmann Award and a 2009 Green Room Award for the Australian premiere of Gutenberg! The Musical. He has also been nominated for a Sydney Theatre Critics Award for his direction of the Australian premiere of Dogfight. Other directing highlights include the Australian premiere of Stalking The Bogeyman (Old Fitz Theatre), the World Premiere concert version of Paris, the World Premiere of The Red Tree, Church And State (Asst. Director - New World Stages), Passion (Arts Centre Melbourne for Life Like Touring), the World Premiere of The Hatpin starring Caroline O'Connor which went on to perform at the New York Music Theatre Festival (as Asst. Director), Truth Beauty And A Picture Of You and High Fidelity (Hayes Theatre Co); the national tour of Thank You for Being A Friend; as well as Side by Side by Sondheim and Diciasette (starring Mark Vincent)

As a producer, Neil's work internationally includes: Back to the Future the Musical at Manchester Opera House; the New York production of Handle with Care starring Carol Lawrence; The 39 Steps (Union Square Theatre in New York); Alan Cumming's one-man version of Macbeth which ran for a special 14-week limited season on Broadway; Church And State (New World Stages, NYC) as well as being a financial investor in the Broadway productions of It's Only A Play; The Empire Strips Back and The Ferryman, directed by Sam Sendes. In London's West End, Neil was a producer of the hit Australian play, Holding the Man.

His producing credits in Australia include: 33 Variations starring Ellen Burstyn; High Fidelity at Hayes Theatre Co; the multi Helpmann Award winning Sweet Charity (Hayes Theatre Co & national tour); Sing on Through Tomorrow (Matthew Robinson); LOVEBiTES (Peter Rutherford & James Millar); Love Letters starring Ian Stenlake and Rachael Beck and the original tour of Breast Wishes - a new Australian musical which went on to complete a six-month regional tour in 2011.

He has also produced and directed cabaret shows for some of Australia's best talent including Lucy Maunder, Mitchell Butel, Queenie van de Zandt, Toby Francis, Catherine Alcorn, Blake Erickson, Kerrie Anne Greenland, Marika Aubrey and Nicholas Christo. His production of Queenie van de Zandt's multi-award-winning show, BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell was nominated for the 2018 Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Awards for Best Cabaret Production. Nick Christo's cabaret show The Fabulous Frances Faye, which was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Critics Award, and was presented in New York in 2009.

Early in his career, Neil was employed by Jacobsen Entertainment, where he was responsible for the financial administration of the Arena Productions of The Man from Snowy River Arena Spectacular, the Long Way to The Top concert series, De La Guarda and Dirty Dancing, as well as being the tour accountant on the road with Ja Rule & Ashanti in 2003. In 2005, Neil also worked for Delta Goodrem and toured Australia as her Tour Accountant on her Visualise Tour.

Neil is also the author of the musical Back to the 80's which is now produced hundreds of times around the world every year, as well as the newly released Popstars.

Richard Neville (Mandylights)

Lighting & Set Design

Richard is one of Australia’s leading lighting and production designers with a diverse portfolio of work over twenty years spanning entertainment, architectural, special event, corporate and light art markets. His work can be seen in the largest arenas and stadiums on world tours with Ricky Martin, The Backstreet Boys and China’s G.E.M., or at light festivals ranging from Vivid Sydney to Christmas at Blenheim Palace in the United Kingdom. Outside traditional venues, Richards designs have broken records at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, illuminated the world’s tallest building at New Year’s Eve on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, lit the MacDonnell Ranges for Alice Spring’s Parrtjima festival and redefined the architecture of the Auckland Harbour Bridge with a permanent lighting installation. Other credits include fifteen years of design for the massive Sydney Mardi Gras Party, touring productions of the musical Cats, design for Australian band Pnau and festivals including Floriade NightFest, Sydney Chinese New Year, Australian Fashion Week and the NRL Grand Final.

Beginning his career while still at high school in Sydney, Richard got his start in amateur theatre and school productions. What started as a teenage passion developed into a career - Richard founded Mandylights, the country’s first entertainment design company in 2006, and today the company employs some twenty staff across offices in Australia and the United Kingdom. The firm is renowned as a world leader in light-art design, has delivered concert projects to over sixty countries and designed everything from automotive shows in India to corporate parties on the beach in Fiji. Richard sits as Managing Director and Senior Designer at Mandylights which remains the largest company of its type in the region.

Richard has long been fascinated by light and its ability to draw people together and share experiences; from the smallest community theatre shows to the world’s largest light festivals and concerts - light is used to attract people, to focus attention, and to augment and support the moment. For a long time, Richard’s passion saw him hidden behind lighting consoles, programming away at the back of a theatre. At Vivid Sydney in 2011, the presentation of his first light artwork was a revolutionary experience which saw him draw immense pleasure from the idea that people could experience a lighting installation on their own terms - visitors could pick the time, weather conditions, viewing position, even operate interactive controls and essentially curate their own experience - quite different to the structured presentation that traditional theatre or concert stages offered.. People were able to interact with the art - to gain their own unique experience and interpret it however they saw fit. Richard has gone on to design a series of immersive, overwhelming lighting installations that now tour the world offering these same experiences to millions of people. His work jumps between traditional disciplines as he attempts to bring elements of design from all areas of his work to each project - with no formal training his design style has simply evolved through experience, emotion and evolution.

Today, Richard collaborates with his team and anybody who will share a drink with him. He regularlylectures and speaks at industry events and training colleges and actively designs and consults on new product development with manufacturers around the world. Richard is also passionate about the next generation of designers and together with Mandylights, still designs and supports dozens of school, charity and community projects around Sydney every year.

Mason Browne

Costume Designer

Mason is a descendant of the Darug people and an award-winning creative director, designer and producer working across theatre, film, television, and live events.  Mason has produced, designed and directed experiential events across Australia and the USA for Australia’s premier production houses.

Mason won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Costume Design of an Independent Production for AMERICAN PSYCHO. He received a further 3 nominations for Best Costume Design at the Sydney Theatre Awards including for: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, RUTHLESS!, and CRY-BABY. 

Design for theatre includes costume design on: YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, AMERICAN PSYCHO, and CRY-BABY directed by Alex Berlage which premiered at Hayes Theatre Co with AMERICAN PSYCHO and CRY-BABY having return seasons at Sydney Opera House and touring in 2021; costume design for the musical THE DEB (ATYP); set design for NOSFERATUTU directed by Sheridan Harbridge (Critical Stages), set and costume design for DARLINGHURST NIGHTS directed by Lee Lewis (Hayes Theatre Co), SUMMER RAIN (New Theatre), RUTHLESS! (The Theatre Division) and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST (Seymour Centre).  His work with youth theatre company Tantrum Theatre brought to life devised works RIOT!, POWERFORCE LIVE and SAVAGE NAKED LOVEdirected by Leticia Caceres.

In television, he was associate designer on Endemol Shine’s BIG BROTHER and READY STEADY COOK.  In 2022, Mason was production and costume designer for the film adaptation of Poulenc’s opera THE HUMAN VOICE for Sydney Festival.

Mason has produced, designed and directed events across Australia and the USA with clients including Netflix, Audi, Vodka O, Mercedes-Benz, Australian Fashion Week, Stereosonic, Beyond The Valley & Lost Paradise Music Festivals, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Sydney Dance Company, Opera Australia and Woodford Folk Festival. He is the Co-Founder of Gaytimes, Australia’s premier LGBTIQ Music Festival. With an eye for style details Mason has honed his skill as a creative director and stylist on music videos and fashion editorial for Red Riders, Dappled Cities Fly, Lisa Mitchell, Abby Dobson, Marcia Hines and publications Yen, Instyle, Culture, Oyster, The Vine and Vogue Brides Australia.

Mason holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Art in Design from NIDA and is currently undertaking a Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Leadership at NIDA.

Jarrad Payne

Co-arranger and Track Producer

Jarrad is a multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer and sound designer from Adelaide. He graduated from The Elder Conservatorium with

Honours in 2005, specialising in jazz drumming. He co-founded the recording studio Wizard Tone in 2014 with Adam Page and James

Brown, and since then has worked as audio engineer and producer with Tim Minchin, Prinnie Stevens, Jo Lawry, James Muller, Will Vinson and

Jamey Haddad, among countless other Australian artists.

He is music director for Hans (America's Got Talent, The Morning Show, Eurovision) and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe (Hans, Reuben

Kaye), Black Swan State Theatre (Oklahoma!), Adelaide Cabaret Festival (Meow Meow, Ali McGregor, Murray Hill), HOME Manchester (Insane Animals) Glastonbury Festival (Shaolin Afronauts), Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Fringe Wives Club) and Underbelly Festival, London (Courtney Act). He is currently co-composer and arranger on The Vali Myers Project, recipient of the 2022 Frank Ford Commission for Adelaide Cabaret Festival. He produces music with absurdist duo voiceROM and spends time with his pet bobwhite quail Chris.

Elysha Manik

Assistant Choreographer

Elysha completed her training at ED5 International in Sydney and made her musical theatre debut in Dirty Dancing (GFO) understudying the lead role, ‘Baby’. Her credits also include Oklahoma! (The Production Co), The Bodyguard (GFO) and Saturday Night Fever (GFO) in the role of Assistant Dance Captain.

Elysha has performed in numerous Opera Australia productions including the acclaimed Carmen where she stepped into the role of Dance Captain and assistant to the choreographer, as well as West Side Story (Opera Australia/GWB) playing Consuela and understudying the role of Anita.

Most recently Elysha was assistant to the choreographer and swing for A Chorus Line (Darlinghurst Theatre Company) for their acclaimed Sydney Festival and Sydney Opera House Seasons.